Belgian government resigns

Belgium’s Prime Minister Yves Leterme submitted the resignation of his government to the king at 11pm on 14 July, an hour before a deadline set for a declaration to the federal parliament on constitutional reform.

The resignation followed the failure of last-ditch negotiations between Belgium’s main political parties in an attempt to meet the deadline on constitutional reform, which had been one of the pre-conditions for the creation of the Leterme government in March. The creation of that government bought only temporary respite from the power vacuum that followed inconclusive federal elections in June 2007.

In a statement issued in the early hours of 15 July, the prime minister declared that: “The timing foreseen in the government accord is not respected. It seems that the opposing visions between the [linguistic] communities over the necessary new balance to be created in our state construct are unbridgeable today.”

Leterme signalled that consultation might continue, but he suggested it would have to extend down to the level of the regional governments of Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia. “This shows that that model of consultation exclusively at the federal level has reached its limits. Nevertheless, reform of the state remains an essential element of a government accord,” his statement said.

But on a dramatic final day, Leterme’s position was undermined by divisions in his own party, the Flemish Christian Democrats, who lead the regional government of Flanders. They could not agree on whether to join in negotiations at a regional level.

The sticking-point remained disagreement over how to resolve the voting rights of citizens in and around Brussels after the constitutional court had ruled unacceptable the combination in one electoral district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde, which spans both Brussels and parts of Flemish Brabant.

The king has not yet made clear whether he will accept the resignation. If he does so, he is not expected to resort immediately to new elections. It is thought that he might turn to Didier Reynders, leader of the francophone Liberals, deputy prime minister and finance minister, and ask him to form a government. Another option is to turn back to the former prime minister Guy Verhofstadt, a Flemish Liberal, to resume caretaker duties.